Cape Town – A Cape Town entrepreneur will be launching a Futur-Ed e-Learning Centre in Athlone on Saturday in a bid to upskill and teach youth in the area for free.
Ismail Kaskar, 36, who now lives in Newlands, said he was aiming to improve education for youth in the area in which he was raised. Although based in Athlone, the e-learning centre will cater to youths from nearby suburbs, including the Cape Flats.
Kaskar said he would be launching 67 working stations for grades 11 and 12 in celebration of his birthday month of July, and the birthday of former South African president Nelson Mandela.
The workstations would make science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects available for free online. Also included would be services that could be used by unemployed youths for purposes of up-skilling, via Google Google Digital Skills for Africa.
The father of one, through his investment holding company Rutherglen Investments, said he was determined to bridge the digital divide between private and government schools. He is investing R1.67 million into the learning centre.
It will be located in the central business district of Athlone and will be open daily from 8am to 12pm. Unemployed youth will be able to attend from 4pm to 8pm, Mondays to Saturdays.
“Being a transport hub for bus, train and taxi, the Athlone CBD is the ideal location for youth from the Cape Flats and surrounding areas to access this e-learning facility,” Kaskar said.
The property being used for the centre had the potential to expand to include 3 000 workstations across the Athlone, Salt River, Parow and Goodwood areas, he added.
“It is part of my belief system that giving of yourself to people generates a return unlike any other.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a comfortable upbringing while being surrounded by communities and families who were not that fortunate.
“Now I am investing my resources into the very community I was raised in, extending a hand-up to others with the objective that they will be able to access better career opportunities."
Kaskar said he believed in combining education and entrepreneurship, which formed the foundation for businesses that would benefit society and the economy.
The objective of the learning centre was to make good pupils great, he said, and help them achieve better grades in order to increase the potential for scholarship and bursary opportunities.
He invited corporate citizens and role-players in the state to join in the expansion opportunity of the centre.